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It's not a tampon. It's not a pad. So what is it? It's a reusable flexible cup that, when inserted into your vagina, collects your flow (rather than absorbing it like a tampon or pad). Periodically (no pun intended) remove the cup, flush the contents, rinse, and reinsert. It may be one of the best eco-options to help you glide greenly through your special time of the month: since it's reusable, you'll minimize the amount of waste you create and won;t require the production of new products each and every month.

Find it! Reusable menstrual cups

It may seem challenging, but using a reusable menstrual cup is easy. Directions on how to insert and remove the DivaCup or Keeper can be found on their respective websites. Each cup also comes with its own set of directions.

Before you buy

Reusable menstrual cups can save you money. Given that the Keeper lasts up to 10 years if treated well, you can calculate how much you'll spend on feminine hygiene products per month while using one: $35 total over 120 months equals 29 cents per month. Compare that to how much you spend on a box of tampons or pads—an average of $4 per month.

The Keeper, made from natural rubber, is not recommended for women with latex allergies. If you know you have an allergy to latex or rubber, you can opt for the DivaCup or Moon Cup, both of which are made from hypoallergenic silicone, a safe alternative.

Using a reusable menstrual cup helps you go green because...

• It reduces the solid waste associated with disposable feminine hygiene products, which can harm ecosystem health and marine life.
• They do not require cotton like tampons do, thereby reducing the amount of chemical pesticides that are pumped into the environment to treat cotton plants.
• It eliminates the chlorine bleach used to whiten tampons and pads, which is harmful to wildlife and humans alike.

Disposable tampons and pads are made with cotton, plastic, and wood pulp, and are usually bleached with chlorine during the manufacturing process. They also create a significant amount of solid waste that is often landfilled, or ends up littering oceans and beaches.

Production: Cotton, plastic, and chlorine

Conventionally grown cotton is a highly water- and pesticide-intensive crop. This water intensity drains surface and ground water sources, leading to erosion, eco-system degradation, and species loss. When combined with the intensive use of chemicals, run-off often contaminates lakes, rivers, and wetlands.

It is estimated that cotton accounts for 11 percent of all pesticides and 24 percent of all insecticides used globally, even though it's grown on just 2.4 percent of the world’s arable land.[1] An estimated $2 billion worth of chemicals are sprayed on global cotton crops annually—almost half of which are classified as hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO).[2]

Conventional sanitary pads also have a significant environmental impact because they require the processing of plastics, specifically polyethylene. This process contributes to global warming and ozone depletion, while also emitting sulfur and nitrogen oxides, leading to acidification.

In addition, both the cotton in tampons and wood pulp used to make pads often undergoes a chlorine bleaching process, which creates dioxins. Dioxins are a known carcinogen and can seriously harm wildlife.

Solid waste creation

In 1999, about 2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million pads, and 700,000 pantiliners were flushed down the toilet daily.[3] The average woman throws away between 10,000 and 15,000 tampons, pads, and applicators over her lifetime. In the US and Canada, more than 12 billion pads and tampons are thrown away annually.[4] Most of this waste is sent to landfills or incinerated.

However, a good portion of this waste passes through sewage treatment plants, ending up in oceans, littering beaches, and harming wildlife. According to the Center for Marine Conservation, between 1998 and 1999, more than 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along American coastlines.[5] The Ocean Conservancy collected and catalogued debris along US coastlines between 2001 and 2006, finding that tampon applicators made up 2.2 percent of the total debris field, more than syringes, condoms, and six-pack rings combined.[6]

Related health issues

Reusable menstrual cups have not been linked to toxic shock syndrome (TSS). A normally healthy bacteria found in warm, moist places of the body can sometimes produce toxins that lead to TSS. This disease has symptoms that are similar to a severe flu, and has been related to tampon absorbency. Since a reusable menstrual cup only catches the natural flow instead of absorbing, it does not interfere with the natural bacteria and mucous on the vaginal walls.

External links

• Natural Products Marketplace - Feminine Hygiene Goes Green